1. Multi-photon UV (MPuv) ~ Room 505

MPuv consists of a Leica upright microscope with temperature controlled Ludin Chamber, high quality objectives from 10x - 63x and motorised xyz stage, and is therefore capable of producing large xy and z montages . The new generation of spectral scan head with acousto-optical beam-splitter (AOBS) opens up a host of new functionality not available on other confocal systems. Lasers options are state of the art multi- and single photon lasers. Conventional lasers lines include; Ultra Violet, Blue-Argon, Green-Krypton Argon and Green-Helium Neon. The mutli-photon laser is capable of producing wavelengths from about 700nm-1000nm which excite fluorophores from the UV, right through to the Cy5 range. PLEASE NOTE: This microscope no longer has a UV laser line. Unfortunately this has broken, and is no longer supported by the manufacturer.

2. Multi-photon 2 (MP2) ~ Room 504

MP2 consists of a Leica fixed stage upright microscope with temperature and CO2 controlled Ludin chamber, AOBS spectral scan head and 10x - 63x long working distance water immersion objectives. This microscope configuration is ideally suited for live-cell/in vivo imaging. In addition, there is a stage mounted micromanipulator with microinjection facilities. Laser options are state of the art multi- and single photon lasers. Conventional lasers lines include; Blue-Argon, Green-Krypton Argon and Green-Helium Neon. The multi-photon laser is capable of producing wavelengths from about 700nm-1000nm which excite fluorophores from the UV, right through to the Cy5 range.

3. Mp_opo ~ Room 509

This is a high resolution microscope, with an Optical Parametric Oscilator allowing 2/3-photon imaging up to 1350nm. The SP8 has the new Field of View scanner (FOV) that allows a 22mm field of view at normal scan rates. The resonant scanner allows 8KHZ imaging: you can do approximately 30 frames per second at 512 x 512 pixel resolution in bi-directional mode. Faster frame rates are achievable with different image sizes. The microscope is equipped with an environmental chamber, with separate temperature and CO2 control, for live cell/embryo imaging. There is a motorised x, y stage for large montages or multi-position time-lapse, and low-noise solid-state lasers. The microscope also has 2 HyD and 1 conventional external PMTs, and 2 HyD and 1 conventional internal PMTs. There is a good range of CS objectives (20x - 63x), with a new 25x 0.95 NA water dipper.

4. Olympus TIRF System ~ Room 540

The unit has recently acquired an Olympus TIRF (Total Internal Reflection) confocal with SIM scanner and perfect focus. It can also be used as a conventional confocal system. It has five laser lines including UV and 440nm for CFP/YFP.

5. SP8vis ~ Room 502

The SP8vis is a high resolution single photon microscope. It has the new Field of View scanner (FOV), that allows a 22mm field of view at normal scan rates.The resonant scanner allows 8KHZ imaging: you can do approximately 30 frames per second at 512 x 512 pixel resolution in bi-directional mode. Faster frame rates are achievable with different image sizes. The microscope is equipped with an environmental chamber, with separate temperature and CO2 control, for live cell/embryo imaging. There is a motorised x, y stage for large montages or multi-position time-lapse, and low-noise solid-state lasers. The microscope also has 2 HyD and 2 conventional PMTs, as well as a transmission PMT. There is a good range of CS objectives (20x - 63x), with a new 25x 0.95 NA water dipper.

6, 7 and 8. SPE1, SPE2 and SPEinv ~ Rooms 517 and 506

The unit has three Leica TCS SPE confocal microscopes: two uprights, and one inverted system. These are high-resolution spectral confocals, with a single detection channel and four lasers that can be used for sequential imaging of multiple fluorophores. Each microscope is equipped with an environmental chamber with separate temperature amd CO2 control for live-cell/embryo imaging.

The ImageXpress® Micro XL System is a widefield high content microscope capable of providing automated cellular imaging in fluorescent, transmitted light, and phase-contrast modes for fixed or live-cell assays. Speed and flexibility are assured with 3X field-of-view, industry-leading stage and autofocus control, a broad range of research-grade objective lenses, multiple filter options, and a gallery of MetaXpress Software solutions to optimise and speed up image analysis. A modular system design enables instrument enhancements for assays ranging from simple label-free imaging to long-term monitoring of cellular responses, compound addition and post-wash recovery. Individual cells can be tracked during multi-day time-lapse experiments.
The system has 4 channel fluorescence (DAPI, GFP, Cy3, Texas Red and Cy5). This system doesn't have fluidics control, but has Bright Field imaging. There are a good range of objectives for low and high power imaging available.

10. Zeiss AxioScan Z1 slide scanner ~ Room 526

The scanner can take up to 100 normal glass slides or 50 double-width slides. It can image both bright-field (e.g. H&E slides) and up to 4-colour fluorescent samples (405, 488, 556 and 633 nm excitation) to form montages of the whole sample, or multiple samples on each slide. The resultant montages are fully scalable (one can zoom in as when using 'Google Maps') and export the whole image to a variety of image file formats. The Zeiss output image format can also be viewed with Zen-Lite software with full functionality, is free to use and can be downloaded from the Zeiss website. There are also two 'off-line' work stations for image analysis functions to analyse/quantify the images.

All of the above microscopes and scanning systems can be booked using the online booking system (there is a link in the Menu bar at the top of this page). If you are not registered to use it, please call
020 7679 0904 (external) x40904 (internal) to be added to the system.

Fitted with 10x, 40x and 63x water dipping objectives. META detector (8 channel detector) for collection of variable emission, for spectral analysis and for separation of overlapping spectra.

This two photon microscope is now equipped with an independently controlled motorised stage that allows flexiblity in height - i.e. it can accommodate large tissue baths, tissue slices, and is ideal for larger samples.

The ImageXpress® Micro XL System is a widefield high content microscope capable of providing automated cellular imaging in fluorescent, transmitted light, and phase-contrast modes for fixed or live-cell assays. Speed and flexibility are assured with 3X field-of-view, industry-leading stage and autofocus control, a broad range of research-grade objective lenses, multiple filter options, and a gallery of MetaXpress Software solutions to optimise and speed up image analysis. A modular system design enables instrument enhancements for assays ranging from simple label-free imaging to long-term monitoring of cellular responses, compound addition and post-wash recovery. Individual cells can be tracked during multi-day time-lapse experiments.
The system has 5 channel fluorescence (DAPI, CFP, GFP, Cy3, Texas Red and Cy5). This system fluidics control for adding compounds to the wells during image acquisition.. There are a good range of objectives for low and high power imaging available.

Tissue Culture Facility

Incubator available for short term storage of specimens. Class II biological safety cabinets and slicing room, can be used for specimen preparation.